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Saturday, May 12, 2012

So a couple of weeks ago my Mom decided to be the best Mom in the word and said she would buy me a Clarisonic :). We made our way to Nordstrom in Cerritos, CA and the woman at the Dior counter told us about the Trend Show they had coming up. That we could reserve our spot for $15, Clarisonic was going to be there, and I would also get some free gifts if I waited to pick up my Clarisonic on that day. So we did and I'm so excited that I waited because the trend show was an AWESOME experience! I had no idea that it was going to be such an elaborate production. There was a coffee and muffin breakfast with fun giveaways and then we made our way up to the second floor where there was a full on runway set up! We got to take a sneak peak at some of the hottest trends and products for the Spring and Summer and entered a drawing to win free prizes. Unfortunately, my mom and I didn't win anything, but there were plenty of opportunities to snag some samples of things. There were so many experienced and professionals speaking on behalf of their brands, it was awesome to be in the presence of such talent.

Below: Main stage of the show

Below: First model on the Runway!

Below: Us waiting in line for coffee and an introduction

The biggest surprise for me was seeing what Smashbox had in store. They brought with them world renound photographer, Steven Khan to the store and if you made a $100 Smashbox purchase you were able to reserve a photo session with him after you got your makeup done by the Smashbox team, very awesome!

Above: Steven Khan shooting the models coming down the runway

After the runway event everyone headed downstairs to check out the vendors and make some purchases. And honestly by this point I was super overwhelmed! There were so many great options, but I had already purchased my Clarisonic and was not looking to make any other drastic purchases, so I stayed where I was comfortable and headed to the MAC counter, and I'm so glad I did because I was approached by MAC Senior Artist and presenter for the show, Cynthia Rivas. She complimented me on my look and asked me if I was an artist (a major compliment coming from her) and we chit chatted for a bit about Makeup. So awesome meeting her! I wish I would have gotten a picture, she is extremely tall and beautiful on top of her being talented.
After this experience I walked around the store a few times, picked up some free goodies and pretty much made my way out. Overall it was an awesome experience filled with fun and beauty and I'm glad I went. So here are some pictures of what I picked up...

Left to right: Perfume samples of David Yurman- Delicate Essence, Valentino- Valentina (my FAVORITE!), Givenchy- Dahlia Noir, and Jimmy Choo. Then my Clarisonic Mia 2 with my free carrier bag as well as an extra brush head for Normal skin types. I also picked up Girl About Town from the MAC Sets collection, and Well Dressed blush. Then I have my free 30 day supply of the Laura Mercier foundation primer that I already have and love, so I'm glad I have a travel size now. Then my free Peony blush by Clinique. And my Nordstrom water bottle! I thought it was cute :)

Perfume samples and my Clarisonic travel bag, I love it! The inside lining is waterproof, perfect for the brush or even to carry makeup.

Super Sample of the Primer

MAC Well Dressed and Girl About Town Lipstick

P.S. I'm going to be writing about my experience with the Clarisonic so stay tuned for that... Hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

After seeing this done on many tumblr pages I decided to give it a shot, and I'd say for my first try it wasn't too bad. I painted my nails a deep maroon color then after I let it dry and sponged on a pale blue, aqua, then yellow. I added a couple dots of white polish which I wish I hadn't because I made them too big, next time I'll just stick with the glitter top coat. But I still like the way they came out.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Hello Everyone,
So I was rummaging through the ads today and I saw that CVS has the new Spoiled nail polishes by Wet n Wild for only $.99! So I stopped by after work to give them a try and I'm actually really impressed. They are very pigmented and I love the color selection. My only complaint though is the style of the brush tip. It's abnormally large and a note quite as flimsy as it should be so in the case of the
'Toad-ally Amazing' color the brush made it look streaky. But other than that I'm sold. I'm even thinking of going back to snag some more colors.

While I was there I also decided to purchase a couple of the Wet n Wild Mega Last Lipstick that many people have been talking about. I bought them in two colors, a nude, Bare it All. And a wine color that I believe was Cherry Bomb, but I threw away the wrapper and the actually tube doesn't have the name written. But i really like them both. The pigment is amazing and I will be testing them too to see how long they last. Also I've had my eye on the Kat Von D 'Homegirl' lipgloss and it would go PERFECTLY over the Cherry Bomb lipstick! So that purchase is coming up soon I'm sure.

Lastly I just want to mention that the Revlon hair color is on sale right now, 2 for $6 so I bought two in number 10, Black for the roots of my hair. I have naturally Black hair, but I also now have a great deal of naturally Gray hair so I have to cover up my roots about once a month. I started going gray when I was about 13 years old and it's only gotten worse sense then. So if you have issues with gray this hair color is PERFECT for covering it up, it does an amazing job and it is so cheap. I was really happy to discover it because coloring your hair once a month can get really pricey really fast if you are getting it done professionally. But as you can tell I'm a big fan of DIY :)

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Hello Everyone! I know I haven't posted in a little while. It's been a combination of being busy with work and school, being broke, and also I'm in the process of interviewing with Sephora again. Hopefully I will know if I am hired very soon so I can share much more information with you all! But here is a list of some purchases I've made over the month, or just ones that have become more relevant to me recently, enjoy and let me know your thoughts!

1. Bite Beauty Lip Rouge, $22- Now I don't have this exact product, I bought a no name brand of rouge a lil bit ago and I'm in love with how simple it is to use and what a different it makes when you're not wearing any makeup. A pop of this on the lips and cheeks really brightens up your face and gives a romantic look.

2. ELF High Definition Powder, $6- This product is so comparable to the Make Up Forever HD powder it's insane! It's very finely milled and leaves my skin feeling very smooth. My favorite thing to do is use this on top of my foundation when I don't want to look like I have a ton of makeup on. It allows the foundation to show a bit of sheen and also sets it so it doesn't run off my face for the rest of the day. Definitely worth your time and money and with the amount of powder it contains it will last forever.

3. Lush Ocean Salt, $34.95- When I stopped by Lush to pick up my usual Buffy, Mask and bar of Soap I was approached by the salesman who sold me on this product. My mom had actually just bought a body scrub that claimed to do the same this product does (remove dead skin cellls) but I found the fragrance in her scrub was too strong for my sensitive skin. This product is all natural and it leaves my skin glowing and smells amazing. I don't use it everyday because I don't like to scrub that often but it does work well.

4. Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Foundation, $50- I know this product is a little on the pricey side but I can honestly say this is hands down my favorite foundation. I have normal to dry skin and on the days where my skin is feeling thirsty this is my go to product. It covers so amazing and feels silky smooth. But because of the thick texture (and it's super thick so if that's not your preference you probably won't like it) I use my fingers to apply it. If you aren't into using your hands I would say only use a sponge, because any other brush isn't going to work well with the texture. I also like to compliment it with some cream blush and some MAC Fix + and my skin looks dewy and flawless!

5. Stila Smudge Crayon, Water Proof Liner, $22- Lately I have only been wearing mascara and blush because I either don't have the time or I'm just not in the mood to impress. And the best trick to thicken up the look of your lashes is to add some water proof liner to the upper waterline and in between the lashes. It makes them look thicker and fuller and really brings attention to your eyes. You can add this to a quick 5 minute face routine and it really makes a difference.

6. Maybelline Fit Me Foundation, $5- I decided to feature 2 foundations this month because that's really been my main focus. I haven't been motivated to get risky with my eye shadow but it's very important to me that my skin looks good. And this is by FAR the best drug store foundation out there in my opinion. It covers well, it feels really smooth and when coupled with a good primer it looks like an expensive foundation. This should be in everyone's kit.